Planning Board extends Veritas Academy decision deadline to Dec. 3

WAYLAND — November 12, 2024 — Wayland Planning Board extends Veritas Christian Academy decision deadline to Dec. 3 amid Dover Amendment disputes. The board voted 5-0 to continue the 164-172 Cochituate Road hearing to Nov. 26 and gave applicant representative Chris Blessen a list of items requiring narrative justification, including a roof element four feet over the 35-foot height limit, retaining walls and a sports court in the 30-foot setback, and parking compliance under Section 506.7. Attorney Mark Bobrowski pledged a memo applying the Dover balancing test of "economic viability or utility" to each deviation. Hydrologist Scott Horsley, retained by neighbor Mary Beth Egan, told the board the southern septic system at 2,500 gallons per day exceeds the roughly 1,800-gallon-per-day Aquifer Protection District maximum and that groundwater mounding has been calculated for only two of eight infiltration structures. Chair Anette S. Lewis said current site plans do not reflect actual LIDAR topography of the sloped site.